China Begins Mass Swine Flu Vaccinations

On Monday in Beijing, China mass vaccinations for the swine flu started to be administered. This action apparently makes it the first nation in the world to start inoculating its population against the horrible virus. Beijing was the leader in trying to produce a vaccine for the H1N1 virus, and officials have warned them that the demand will exceed the supply. The program started off by immunizing around 100,000 students. The health ministry says that it plans to vaccinate 65 million people, or 5% of the country’s total population, which is 1.3 billion. In China, 13,262 have been reported to have been vaccinated according to the latest information released on the health ministry’s website. Although there have been many cases, no deaths have been reported yet. The virus has currently spread to all of China’s 31 provinces and regions, and are being transmitted domestically. Currently, the swine flu has infected 3,500 people worldwide and cases are expected to increase dramatically in Asia and the northern hemisphere, as it enters the winter.